Manchester coverups: School board needs to come clean

EDITORIAL February 14. 2014 11:37PMAnother Manchester high school principal has abruptly resigned with no explanation provided by the school board or superintendent to the parents, voters and taxpayers.

The board refers all questions to Superintendent Debra Livingston, who says, essentially, that the public should go away. This, after all, is a "personnel matter." And such things are just not to be discussed.

School board members including Mayor Ted Gatsas and Vice Chairman David Wihby apparently like this arrangement. And why not? If the people are not to be told why an individual suddenly "resigned" in the middle of the school year, then anyone who approved the hiring - and the resignation - might avoid having their own judgment questioned.

Gatsas, Wihby and the rest of the board can't hang the Mailhot matter on Dr. Livingston.

She wasn't in office when Mailhot was selected at Central; nor was she here when West High Principal MaryEllen McGorry "resigned" under similar murky circumstances.

Clearly, neither of these well-paid and key school administrators decided to just up and retire. Had that been the case, a banquet and parting gifts would have ensued.

The school board and Livingston may think they are doing the correct and legally safe thing with these "resignations" and "personnel matter" coverups. They are not. They are sorely undermining public confidence and allowing the worst possible rumors to spread like poison.

They need to stop doing these secret deals behind closed doors.

If that means airing dirty laundry and spending money on litigation, so be it.

The people would rather have that than be patted on the head and told to run along, there is nothing to see here.